Drake To Jay Z: Most Influential Rap Track Of The 2000s?

Vote on your pick for most influential rap track of the 2000s as curated from Shea Serrano's 'The Rap Yearbook'

Renée Fabian

GRAMMYs

Aug 1, 2017 - 9:30 am

GRAMMY.com

AMC will be turning Shea Serrano's groundbreaking The Rap Yearbook into a TV miniseries. The book (and series) features Serrano's take on the most influential hip-hop recording from each year since 1979. In the process, he deconstructs the genre, showing its evolution and growth over the years. Now it's your chance to weigh in on which hip-hop track from the 2000s — as designated in Serrano's book — is most influential. Vote now!

How Hip-Hop And R&B Crushed Their Competition: Can Rock Bounce Back?

Chart success, streaming, GRAMMYs and smashing guitars — how the R&B and hip-hop genres beat rock at its own game

Kathy Iandoli

GRAMMYs

Feb 19, 2018 - 2:20 pm

There was a time in the not so distant past when hip-hop was likened to disco. A flash in the pan genre defined by its hyperbolic expression of sound and style, disco fizzled out in the early '80s once the fashion and sonic trends attached to it expired.

Hip-hop was presumably following in its footsteps, especially when so many break records were layered with disco samples to create the early framework of hip-hop's sound — think the Sugarhill Gang's 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" (GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, 2014), which sampledChic's 1979 No. 1 smash, "Good Times."

But hip-hop persevered and brought with it an evolution of the R&B genre as well. Combined, the two genres became unstoppable, eclipsing a flimsy stigma of being confined to an "urban" box. Now, four and a half decades since hip-hop's inception, the genre has seemingly taken the music industry over along with R&B, beating rock at its own game. How did we get here?

Theoretically, the move has been gradual, though 2017 marked a quantifiable shift leaning in hip-hop and R&B's favor. First, there are the sales figures: Hip-hop and R&B accounted for 25 percent of music consumption in 2017, with rock trailing at 23 percent. Add to that an uptick in audio streaming in 2017 by 72 percent — with 29 percent of music streamed online being hip-hop and R&B combined, matching rock and pop, which also combined for 29 percent of music streamed online. The two previously gigantic leaders in major genres are now neck-and-neck with the "underdogs" of R&B and hip-hop.

Kendrick Lamar: 2018 GRAMMYs Performance

But per Nielsen's 2017 year-end report, eight of the top 10 albums were, in fact, hip-hop or R&B albums, including Drake and Kendrick Lamar for More Life and DAMN., respectively. Meanwhile, Drake and Lamar held down the top two spots on the list of most popular artists based on total consumption (sales and streaming), while Bruno Mars, Eminem, Future, The Weeknd, and Lil Uzi Vert were also among the other artists that proved hip-hop and R&B were the most widely consumed collective genres this past year.

The 60th GRAMMY Awards further punctuated that claim, as artists like Jay-Z and SZA found homes in the General Four categories, with Mars — who earned Record, Album and Song Of The Year — and Lamar sweeping wins across the board.

Watch: Bruno Mars Wins Album Of The Year

Phrases like "the death of rock and roll" have been continually tossed around since this cycle of news arrived. The latest strike against rock came when Coachella announced that for the first time in its 19-year existence there wouldn't be a rock act headlining the festival. The three headliners for the 2018 installment will be Beyoncé, Eminem and The Weeknd.

"I think it speaks to the strength of the music and the strength of the fan base," explains Jeriel Johnson, Executive Director of the Recording Academy Washington, D.C. Chapter. "The fans dictate who shows up on those stages."

While the 2017 tallies may suggest that sales and streams have finally caught up, industry insiders have seen the trends shifting over the last 5 to 10 years.

"Now so, even more than ever, music can be created and put out so much more quickly so when something is happening, urban music is reflecting that really quickly."

"R&B and hip-hop have always had a huge influence and impact on our culture, regardless of the time period — from fashion to slang to our tastes in music [and] cars," says GRAMMY-nominated producer Harvey Mason Jr.

However, with rap artists growing into cross-cultural icons, hip-hop poured into rock and vice versa.

"I immediately think of artists like Run-DMC, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Kid Cudi. These are a few of the pioneers who helped lay down the foundation for artists like Post Malone, Lil Uzi, [the late] Lil Peep, and Lil Pump to become the new generation of artists to continue the push forward the borders of hip-hop," explains Matthew Bernal manager of media for Republic Records. "From their trend-setting fashion, genre-bending sounds and riot-like live performances, millennials grew up watching these icons and the influence is clear in their music today."

Artists such as Rae Sremmurd, who released the groundbreaking "Black Beatles" with Gucci Mane in 2016, extended that aesthetic — the music video for the hit single showed the duo breaking TV sets with electric guitars.

Behind the song: Post Malone's "Congratulations"

"Post Malone's 'Rockstar,' which was the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks last year, is a strong indication of how today's hip-hop artists view themselves: as rock stars," continues Bernal.

"Urban culture is the new rock," adds GRAMMY-winning producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. "[In] every era there's a change that takes place, and right now Migos, Kendrick Lamar — they're the new rock stars."

"I feel like it was bound to happen," says Nicole Johnson, industry relations at music streaming service Pandora. "Back in the day, rock and roll was started by an urban genre and urban people. But then it became 'sex, drugs, and rock and roll' and, now, isn't that what these hip-hop [artists] are now talking about? Here are rappers just living their best lives, being themselves, tattooing their faces if they feel like it, wearing dresses on the cover of their album if they feel like it. It's all about self-expression."

Johnson adds that Pandora's Next Big Sound has been driven by hip-hop and R&B as of late, leading to the service's launch of the weekly urban station, The Sauce. "There are now so many [sub]genres within hip-hop, of course, it's gonna take over.”

But in the wake of hip-hop and R&B's takeover, so was the digital boom. Urban music jumped onboard streaming services early, with platforms like SoundCloud birthing its own scene, SoundCloud rap, which has given way to artists such as Chance The Rapper and Rico Nasty who have equally dominated the space as other hip-hop artists.

"I think R&B/hip-hop is benefitting from changes in technology," says Mason, underscoring how today's fast turnaround in music creation has placed hip-hop and R&B at a unique vantage point, especially when it comes to topical music. "R&B and hip-hop really seem to have their ear to the ground culturally and in society with everything our country is going through.

"It just seems to be such a transparent outlet for people with feelings and opinions, and now so, even more than ever, music can be created and put out so much more quickly so when something is happening, urban music is reflecting that really quickly."

So where will we go from here? Is rock really fading away? And, if so, can it come back? While the cyclical nature of music would reflect an inevitable return, perhaps rock will have to once again evolve the way hip-hop and R&B had to in order to rise up.

"It'll rebound in a different kind of way, I believe," says Jerkins. "Someone will come along and do it in a newer and cooler way. But right now? Hip-hop, R&B — that's pop. Because pop music is anything that's popular."

(Kathy Iandolihas penned pieces for Pitchfork, VICE, Maxim, O, Cosmopolitan, The Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and more. She co-authored the book Commissary Kitchen with Mobb Deep's late Albert "Prodigy" Johnson, and is a professor of music business at select universities throughout New York and New Jersey.)

Sean "Diddy" Combs Tops 2017 Highest Paid Hip-Hop Artists List

Jay Z to Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and Nicki Minaj, find out where your favorite artist ranks on the list

Renée Fabian

GRAMMYs

Sep 27, 2017 - 3:43 pm

In what's been called "the world's most popular art form," there's lots of financial opportunity for artists to make it big in hip-hop. This year, some of the most esteemed names in the genre did just that, as reported on Forbes' annual list of the top earning hip-hop acts.

What trends dominate hip-hop today?

Topping the list this year is GRAMMY winner Sean "Diddy" Combs, who brought in $130 million largely thanks to his 2016 Bad Boy Records reunion tour and from selling part of his Sean Jean clothing company.

Coming in second on the list is streaming king Drake with $94 million, thanks to two album releases and tour revenue. He's followed by Tidal owner Jay Z at No. 3 with $42 million, while Dr. Dre sits at No. 4 on the list with $34.5 million. Chance The Rapper, who released his GRAMMY-winning album Coloring Book for free, earned $33 million.

Exploring The Rap Field Nominees

Go inside the nominations in the Rap Field categories for the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards

GRAMMYs

Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

GRAMMY.com

You've seen the list of nominees, now take a closer look at the artists nominated in the Rap Field categories for the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

This year's rap nominees span GRAMMY veterans and those looking to win their first GRAMMY statue. Three of this year's artists — Jay-Z, Frank Ocean and Kanye West — are among the top nominees overall, with six nominations each. Jay-Z and West return with nominations from their collaborative effort, last year's Best Rap Album nominee Watch The Throne. Additional nominated collaborations include Drake and Lil Wayne, Flo Rida and Sia, Nas and the late Amy Winehouse, and John Legend and Ludacris, among others. A troop of new voices also made the cut, including Ocean, who is also up for Best New Artist, 2 Chainz, Big Sean, and Australian vocalist Sia.

Best Rap Performance

Drake Featuring Lil Wayne, "HYFR (Hell Ya F***ing Right)"

Drake is up for three nominations this year. He has 10 prior GRAMMY nominations. Lil Wayne is up for two nominations this year. He has 18 prior GRAMMY nominations and four GRAMMY wins.

Jay-Z & Kanye West, "N****s In Paris"

Jay-Z is up for six nominations this year. He has 46 prior GRAMMY nominations and 14 prior GRAMMY wins. West is up for six nominations this year. He has 46 prior GRAMMY nominations and 18 prior GRAMMY wins.

Nas, "Daughters"

Nas is up for four nominations this year. He has nine prior GRAMMY nominations.

Kanye West Featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz, "Mercy"

West is up for six nominations this year. He has 46 prior GRAMMY nominations and 18 prior GRAMMY wins. Big Sean is up for two nominations this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of his career. Pusha T is up for two nominations this year. He has one prior GRAMMY nomination. 2 Chainz is up for three nominations this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of his career.

Young Jeezy Featuring Jay-Z & André 3000, "I Do"

Young Jeezy is up for one nomination this year. He has three prior GRAMMY nominations. Jay-Z is up for six nominations this year. He has 46 prior GRAMMY nominations and 14 prior GRAMMY wins. André 3000 is up for two nominations this year. He has 20 prior GRAMMY nominations and six prior GRAMMY wins with OutKast.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

Flo Rida Featuring Sia, "Wild Ones"

Flo Rida is up for one nomination this year. He has four prior GRAMMY nominations. Sia is up for one nomination this year, marking the first GRAMMY nomination of her career.

Jay-Z is up for six nominations this year. He has 46 prior GRAMMY nominations and 14 prior GRAMMY wins. West is up for six nominations this year. He has 46 prior GRAMMY nominations and 18 prior GRAMMY wins. Ocean is up for six nominations this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of his career. The-Dream is up for two nominations this year. He has eight prior GRAMMY nominations and three prior GRAMMY wins.

John Legend Featuring Ludacris, "Tonight (Best You Ever Had)"

Legend is up for one nomination this year. He has 20 prior GRAMMY nominations and nine prior GRAMMY wins. Ludacris is up for one nomination this year. He has 19 prior GRAMMY nominations and three prior GRAMMY wins.

Nas Featuring Amy Winehouse, "Cherry Wine"

Nas is up for four nominations this year. He has nine prior GRAMMY nominations. The late Winehouse is up for one nomination this year. She has seven prior GRAMMY nominations and six prior GRAMMY wins.

Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z, "Talk That Talk"

Rihanna is up for three nominations this year. She has 18 prior GRAMMY nominations and five prior GRAMMY wins. Jay-Z is up for six nominations this year. He has 46 prior GRAMMY nominations and 14 prior GRAMMY wins.

Nas is up for four nominations this year. He has nine prior GRAMMY nominations. Wilson is up for one nomination this year. He has two prior GRAMMY nominations and one prior GRAMMY win. Adams, DeCarlo, Frashuer, are Leka are up for one nomination each this year, marking the first GRAMMY nomination of their careers.

Miguel is up for five nominations this year. He has one prior GRAMMY nomination. Wale, Dew, Howard, Johnson are up for one nomination each this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of their careers.

West is up for six nominations this year. He has 46 prior GRAMMY nominations and 18 prior GRAMMY wins. 2 Chainz is up for three nominations this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of his career. Pusha T is up for two nominations this year. He has one prior GRAMMY nomination. Big Sean is up for two nominations this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of his career. Taft and Thomas are up for one nomination each this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of their careers.

Drake is up for three nominations this year. He has 10 prior GRAMMY nominations. Lil Wayne is up for two nominations this year. He has 18 prior GRAMMY nominations and four GRAMMY wins. Tyler Williams is up for one nomination this year, marking the first GRAMMY nomination of his career.

Jay-Z is up for six nominations this year. He has 46 prior GRAMMY nominations and 14 prior GRAMMY wins. West is up for six nominations this year. He has 46 prior GRAMMY nominations and 18 prior GRAMMY wins. Dean is up for one nomination this year. He has five prior GRAMMY nominations and four prior GRAMMY wins. Hollis is up for one nomination this year, marking the first GRAMMY nomination of his career.

Wiz Khalifa is up for two GRAMMY nominations this year. He has two prior GRAMMY nominations. Bluechel is up for one nomination this year. He has six prior GRAMMY nominations. Brown is up for one nomination this year. He has two prior GRAMMY nominations. Snoop Dogg is up for one nomination this year. He has 13 prior GRAMMY nominations. Borrow, Hernandez, Griffin, Jackson, Lee, and Newman, are up for one nomination each this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of their careers.

Best Rap Album

Drake, Take Care

Drake is up for three nominations this year. He has 10 prior GRAMMY nominations.

Lupe Fiasco, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1

Lupe Fiasco is up for one nomination this year. He has 11 prior GRAMMY nominations and one prior GRAMMY win.

Nas, Life Is Good

Nas is up for four nominations this year. He has nine prior GRAMMY nominations.

The Roots, Undun

The Roots are up for one nomination this year. They have 13 prior GRAMMY nominations and three prior GRAMMY wins.

Rick Ross, God Forgives, I Don't

Rick Ross is up for one nomination this year. He has one prior GRAMMY nomination.

2 Chainz, Based On A T.R.U. Story

2 Chainz is up for three nominations this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of his career.

Who will take home the awards in the Rap Field categories? Tune in to the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 10, 2013, taking place at Staples Center in Los Angeles and airing live on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). (Note: The videos embedded reflect official videos available through official artist and record label channels.)

CyHi The Prynce On Kanye Brainstorms, Lil Wayne Tour, 'Nu Africa'

The Atlanta rapper speaks on the music biz, owing his discovery to Beyoncé, empowering Kanye, and how his new album will change lives

Nate Hertweck

GRAMMYs

Oct 6, 2017 - 2:35 pm

CyHi The Prynce is not new to the game. The Stone Mountain, Ga., rapper's prolific decade-long career has yielded a steady flow of lyrical mixtapes, high-profile collaborations, and praise from the likes of Beyoncé and Kanye West. But with a bold, conceptual full-length debut album on the way, in a way Prynce is just getting started.

CyHi The Prynce: Writing With Kanye West

If his latest singles, "Movin' Around" featuring ScHoolBoy Q and "Nu Africa," are any indication, CyHi The Prynce's upcoming album will be impossible to ignore. While an exact release date for No Dope On Sundays is TBA, Prynce's concept of community in action is very clear. The five-time GRAMMY nominee — all five as a credited songwriter for Best Rap Song — plans to bring his Midas touch from behind-the-scenes to the main stage on his long awaited full-length debut.

In this exclusive interview with CyHi The Prynce, he speaks the truth behind the Atlanta rap industry, how he empowered West to speak his mind on hits like "New Slaves" and "I Am A God," recalls life on tour with Lil Wayne, and proclaims his love for some rather unexpected musical inspirations.

Your new album No Dope On Sundays seems like it's going to explode. Why do you feel it's going to change people's lives?
I think No Dope On Sundays is a great topic that's not just me rapping. I really wanted to be able to touch people in certain ways and touch my community in a certain way where we work on ourselves through our music. I think a lot of times when people listen to me, it's a very intimate moment. They might not have a lot of friends around or whatnot, but I wanted this concept to also be able to teach something and be able to learn something, and be able to learn from it, but also it'd be something where everybody can listen to it at once. So I put a bunch of different vibes … it's gonna reach every genre and every human being from every race, so I'm glad. I'm happy.

"Nu Africa" is bold, imaginative and fun. If you had to pick, which one of the hypotheticals in the lyrics is your favorite?
The first line: "Imagine if all the actors and athletes would go back and talk to all the ambassadors." You know what I'm sayin' … it's a lane that I feel like hasn't been tapped into and its potential hasn't been tapped into. I think there's a lot of things that me and my people are concerned about here, but there you could expedite it other places. Say in Africa where it's free [and] there's land. You could go back and tell them, 'Hey, this is what we're trying to do, we're gonna donate money, we wanna bring these resources,' and I think they'd be very inclined to it.

But I also wanted to do it in a fun way where it wasn't too heavy-handed, but also just giving them their imagination. … It's not like it's an exodus or something. It's something you can create in your own community. I feel like the Jewish community has a dope community like that, you might go to New York and they have Chinatown, you know what I mean? Just create that culture where if anyone wants to come get some culture from hip-hop or anything, you come to us and we can give you the inside scoop on it. So I think that's what the main reason for that song, and the main direction I was thinking when I made it.

Yeah, it's a real thought-starter …
I always say, "You can't tell nobody to cut their grass unless you cut your own." So a lot of times we have to also understand after we do express our differences and our concerns, how do we go back to the table and rectify them and just not just voice our opinion. That's what I like to do. I say I'm the Navy Seal of my community. The Army is those that march or those that speak out, but I'm the one who really goes and gets the job done.

Where does Atlanta sit as one of rap's capital cities now, compared to when you entered the game almost a decade ago?
Well, I think Atlanta has so much culture and you know I would like to say this — it's very touchy but I want to say it. ... You know, we don't have as many black executives or executives in Atlanta. It's just the executives are probably in New York and California and they'll fly there. So a lot of times we have to make our own executives. A lot of times that takes a lot of hard work and it takes a lot of, I would say from my culture, "penitentiary chances" — you know, where guys are doing anything to come up with this money to be able to fund their studio, to be able to market their project, to be able to do all these things. So a lot of times, people want to know why our city is flourishing because we have the hustle of doing it all ourself. So when you do it all yourself and you have different individuals you're rubbing shoulders with, and we're all into that, I think it builds up a platform that we can showcase our artists, and then other labels come down and, you know, joint venture deals and different things.

So I think in a nutshell, its just that environment of swag and talking crap and coming up with these songs and having fun. ... It's just very country but also soulful. I think that's how we keep it all together with all those different things around it that keeps the culture vibing.

A post shared by CYHI THE PRYNCE (@1cyhitheprynce) on Aug 29, 2017 at 2:53pm PDT

So, Kanye told you that you owe your career to Beyoncé for telling him to sign you, but what do you feel you owe Kanye for the influence he's had on your career?
My life. I just think him just being able to teach me how to even communicate with the producers and the engineers [was so important]. Like I didn't know what reverb meant and 808s and 909s and toms ... it's just all these things that he knows and I thought most rappers don't know. But to be able to show me everything, how to put this album together, how to put these songs together and being able to communicate with the writers and the artists and the producers and the engineers, I just think that education is invaluable, like I can't put a price tag on that. I just learned so much and I'm still learning every day, so I think he's the greatest.

With the five GRAMMY nominations as a writer for Kanye songs, what do you feel he's learned from you?
At the end of the day, I think I'm a very out-of-the-box thinker. A lot of people don't know, if you listen to my mixtapes and you listen to his albums, you can tell there's a conversation going on in the studio, and that's what he likes. He likes to come in the room with different people from different walks of life and brainstorm, and that's mostly the album. Eighty percent of his albums are brainstorm. There's only 20 percent of us actually doing something. Most of it's like, the thoughts, the thoughts, the thoughts. The easy part is executing them, but the hard part is really coming up with what he wants to do.

What I like to do is challenge him, like, "Naw, you can't say new slaves. Yeah you can say I'm a God." "What you mean, you can't say that?" "Oh, you, what you wanna say, I'm a gangster?" When he said that, that was a real conversation. "What you a criminal? What, you a n*****? Like, what is it? Oh, you want to think of yourself to be the highest being, you shoot for the moon and fall among the stars." That is what we were talking about … people were in the room who were Christian and who were other different religions that were rubbed the wrong way and we had to have those conversations, so that is what I think that he got me in there for — to really cut that ice, you know what I mean, to actually get to the meat of the song and the root of the songs. I think Yeezus was the first time you probably heard that influence. ...

What hobbies do you have outside of music?
Outside of music, I'm very regular. I'm very go to the movies. I like to fish. I water my plants, I kiss my girl on the forehead, and I write. I write because I told myself if they write another bible, I want to be in it. If they write a Last Testament, my name has to come across one of them books, so that's why I'm here to write. I don’t have any other hobbies but to destroy rappers, that's my biggest hobby.

You toured with Lil Wayne earlier this summer. Any crazy memories from that tour?
We were on different schedules, and I had so much promo to do in between the dates we didn't really get to hang out like we should. But what I learned from him is he performs like it's his first show every show. I've never seen anybody do that. You're Lil Wayne, you can go in there and just swag out, he's in there like, "Wayne, it's not that serious. You're Lil Wayne. The tickets already sold here."

But it doesn't matter if it's a small venue of 20 people to a million people, he gives a show, man. I was impressed … and his voice still sounds immaculate. Like man, this guy's incredible. He doesn't get old. That's what I learned from him, the professionalism. He comes onstage and gives it every night.

You played football growing up. Who's your NFL team, and what is your pick for Super Bowl LII?
You gotta go with Tom [Brady and the New England Patriots], unfortunately. But my favorite team is … I'm from Atlanta, I like the Falcons, but I played park ball for a team called the Central Dekalb Cardinals, so I love the Arizona Cardinals.

What are three things you're inspired by right now?
I love Valerie June, I don't know if you guys ever heard of her, she's a country singer. She probably thinks I'm obsessed with her because I mention her every time somebody asks me, I just love her music.

I've been listening to a lot of '60s music, I've been trying to go into that lane.

And I love Fela Kuti. I could just listen to his music all day and just work and write raps. Those are my three inspirations right now.

Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.